5 not entirely SFW images of queer kink from photographer Matt Ford – and the stories behind them
Leather, lace, and latex are common in Matt Ford’s kinkiest shots – but from bound flowers to inflatable suits in a Tesco carpark, the London-based photographer back catalogue is full of surprises
“Some of them don’t have jobs where they have to hide it,” says Matt Ford of the card-carrying kinksters he’s photographed. “It’s their lifestyle. They love the scene; their friends are all part of it. They’ll walk down the street on a Tuesday with latex showing. They want people to know and there’s no shame in it.”
The Liverpudlian artist first caught Attitude’s attention with VOYEUR, a 2022 kink-themed exhibition at Espacio Gallery. “I called it that because I was the voyeur,” explains Matt, who isn’t part of the kink community himself. “You could say voyeurism’s my kink. I’m looking in on this world.”
In this excerpt from the inaugural issue of Attitude Uncut, ahead of the launch of Matt’s forthcoming VOYEUR2 Kink exhibition (see poster above – that photo is by Joaquin Bielsa) in December, we take a look back at some of his previous work…
Will Rockville
“I interviewed Will [Rockville] who told me how the kink scene adopted him after he became single later in life. Mainstream gay spaces saw him as an ‘old gay’, like, ‘You’re too old to be in this club, you won’t be fun.’ But he said the leather and kink scene was far more welcoming. That really stuck with me. The kink scene is a community. They look after each other and don’t judge differences.”
Black Peppa
“That was shot in the sex dungeon at Fetish Daddy Gear’s studio. The hair and backdrop are CGI by Jordan Windows.”
“I shoot portraiture, fashion, and still life photography, but I started out as an SFX makeup artist and fell into photography by accident. I never trained formally. I was photographing the makeup I created for my portfolio, and then the images themselves more and more elaborate. I still see photography as just one of many tools for image-making.”
Bound Flower No.3
“I did a series of five flowers that were bound, a precursor to what became a major focus of mine. I love the fragility of the flowers against the power of being tied up. The contrast works perfectly.”
Jordan Pup
“One of my favourites, and a really popular print of mine. He’s an amazing guy and a talented writer too. A new book, Second Skin: Inside the Worlds of Fetish, Kink and Deviant Desire by Anastasiia Fedorova, features this image. That was a nice bonus.”
Inflate cub Tesco
“When I filmed him for my VOYEUR video series, he was like an excited puppy. He couldn’t wait to tell me all about his kink. He said it partly came from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Violet Beauregarde, the girl who blows up like a giant blueberry. Some people asked, ‘Why photograph him in a Tesco car park? That’s obviously not where he’d normally be dressed like that.’ But his kink was about embarrassment and being looked at. When we shot it, there were loads of random people off camera taking photos, going, ‘What the hell?’ It was brilliant.”
To read the rest of this article, check out Attitude Uncut: The kink issue on Apple News+ and the Attitude app.
Attitude – the world’s biggest LGBTQ+ media brand and Europe’s best-selling magazine for gay men – is launching Attitude Uncut, an all-new digital magazine that will be published six times a year (between Attitude print issues) and available exclusively on Apple News+ and via the Attitude app. Featuring long-read journalism inspired by themes resonating within the LGBTQ+ community, each issue will provide a deep dive into topics as varied as sexuality, identity, health, relationships and beyond. The first issue – themed ‘Kink’ – is inspired by hit film Pillion, in cinemas from 28 November. Set in the world of fetish, it stars Alexander Skarsgård and former Harry Potter star Harry Melling who, after a chance meeting in a pub, begin a love affair that takes them both on an unexpected journey of self-discovery.
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